Happy Birthday...

Thomas Jefferson!

Here's a lil' history about our third president of these United States.

He was born in 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia.

He married Martha Wayles Skelton. They were married for ten years until her death. They had six children with only two living to adulthood. He never remarried.
It is believed he fathered Sally Hemings' children. Sally Hemings was a slave at Monticello.

He was known as the "Man of the People" and was a powerful advocate of liberty.

As the "silent member" of the Congress, Jefferson, at 33, drafted the Declaration of Independence. In years following he labored to make its words a reality in Virginia. Most notably, he wrote a bill establishing religious freedom, enacted in 1786.

In 1790 he accepted the post of secretary of state under his friend George Washington. His tenure was marked by his opposition to the pro-British policies of Alexander Hamilton. In 1796, as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Republicans, he became vice-president after losing to John Adams by three electoral votes.

Jefferson is attributed to several inventions, including the swivel chair, a pedometer, a machine to make fiber from hemp, a letter-copying machine, and the lazy susan.

Jefferson retired to Monticello to ponder such projects as his grand designs for the University of Virginia.

He died on July 4, 1826, the same day (and within hours) of John Adams (our second president). It was exactly fifty years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.

"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have."
~Thomas Jefferson
(How right you are Mr. President)